Note: If you want to skip to the section specifically on Mark 1:14-20, scroll down to parts two and three, but the introduction and part one help set-up these later sections. Introduction We're familiar with the Gospel According Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which are each quite distinct. Many of us are even familiar with the Gospel According to Thomas, Mary, and Q. But what is the Gospel According to You from the vantage point of twenty-first knowledge? What is the Gospel According to Your … [Read more...]

In this passage, God speaks to Samuel four times. The first three times, Samuel does not know that the voice he hears is the voice of God. He mistakenly assumes that his mentor, Eli, is calling him. As we read in verse seven, “Samuel did not yet know God, and the word of God had not yet been revealed to him.” Eventually, however, Eli realizes what is happening, and equips the young boy Samuel with what he needs to identify God’s call. And here we see that the first step of spiritual discernment … [Read more...]

Gold: by far my most viewed blog of this past year was "Four Spiritual Practices for Preaching on Matthew 25."Silver: second place goes to "Jesus’ Seed Parable and Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation.”Bronze: the final top contender was "Jesus, a Donkey, and Jon Stewart’s Rally for Sanity.”Thanks, everyone, for reading.(Also, just FYI, the above list was generated from Google Analytics, an incredibly handy -- and free! -- tool that all bloggers should embed in their websites immed … [Read more...]

During the season of Epiphany (basically from the beginning of 2012 through Ash Wednesday), I'm planning a sermon series on the Didache. I've read the primary text previously a few times as well as a pieces of secondary literature, but I still don't feel like I have a firm enough grasp on this important early document. I figure preaching through the Didache is a great opportunity to correct this gap.As part of my sermon preparation, I plan to revisit Tony Jones' book The Teaching of the T … [Read more...]

The following is the second of two lectionary commentaries on the Gospel lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent.The first is titled “Hail Mary, Full of Grace” and focuses on the first part of this week's this week's reading from Luke 1.Focal Question 1: What would Christianity look like if the focus were birth, not death; human flourishing, not suffering; and this world, not the next?Focal Question 2: How is God inviting you in the coming days and weeks to echo some form of Mary’s words of h … [Read more...]

The following is the first of two lectionary commentaries on the Gospel lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent. The second is titled "Let It Be" and focuses on the final five verses of this week's reading from Luke 1.Focal Question: How is God calling you this Advent season to slow down, open your eyes in wonder, and expectantly wait for is already in the process of being born?I’m always wary of using the word “countless” — as in “She’s been in countless films” or “He’s scored countless touc … [Read more...]

About the Author

A native of Florence, South Carolina, he is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion and Philosophy in 2000. In 2003, he graduated from Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas, having earned a Masters of Divinity. Read more...